Window-shade roller



J. SHEPPARD.

WINDOW SHADE ROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZ. I9I9.

1,321,251. I Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

W/TN SES Jahnshepparol.

i5/L kf A TTOIM/EYS JOHN sHErPiiRn, or wiiis'roN-sAL-iii/i, -NORTHOAROLINA i T all whom t may concern:

in Vindow-'Shade Rollers, of whicliithe fol- Y' lowing is a specification. 1 j

My invention relates toimprovements inl window-shade rollers, and it consistsiii the' constructions, combinations and arrange- Be it known that I, JOHN SrniriiAnn, citizenof the United States, and Ya resident of Winston-Salem, in the county of` For- State `of North Carolina, haveinsyth and vented certain new vand useful Improvements ments herein described and claimed.

The foremostobject of the present inven-i tion is to provide a novel and greatly sini- 2 shade roller, wherein the friction isiapplied in pulling the shade so that the shade replified friction locking mechanism fora mains at any adjusted position, but is -released in the act of again raising. the shade.

A further Object of the invention is toi vprovide an improved friction shade roller i lock, which is in operative combination with a particular bracket, both embodying `inleasing all friction ont-he roller in'again 'provide in ing of the rollerin pulling the shade but reraising the shade. y

A further object ofthe invention is to bracket and a shade roller with friction whereby the function of frictionally locking y of one end of a shade roller showing the im- 4 down or unwound from the roller 1.

the roller to'various adjustments onvpulling the shade, and releasing all frictional effort on the roller in again raising the shade, are

' Y and spaced a short distance from theeX-V tremity of the axle is Va collar accomplished.

Other objects and advantages will' appear in the following specification, ,reference b eing had to the accompanying drawings, in which i Figure 1 is a vetical longitudinal section proved friction lock,

Fig. 2 is an end elevationshowing the position assumed whenfthe shade Vroller lies normally in the bracket and also when 'the shade is drawn, v s

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing theparts in the normal position and as theystand when the shade is drawn, Y

4 is a plan'view showing thelposition of the parts when'the shade is agaiiiraised v f circular, hole 13, `and provide friction shoilv wiuin'owfsiia'nn ROLLER., l i

Specification of Letters Patent.

combination, aparticular type of Patented Nov. 11, 17919.

Application mea May 2,1919. sentii No. 294,166.

psig. 5 is a, dean view 'of the friction washer,

Fig. 6 is a detail `view of the friction plate or spring,

- Fig. '7"'s adetail view of the cored drum, Fig. 8 isV a sectional view illustrating a arefeinbodied in the friction plates, and

`Fig. 9 is a detail'pers'pectiveview showing f -slight modification, wherein roller bearings my co-pending application, filed January 15, 1919, Serial No. 271,247. Generally, that Y -forni'of friction lock embodies a coil spring which pressesV friction washers respectivelyV -qagainst 'the end of the shade roller and a ferrule which covers substantiallyall of the structuren A novel arraiigeinent'of adjusting the tension of thespring consists either in adjusting the Aferrule on the end of the a shade roller or makingy some adjustments of 4struinentalities .causing the frictional lockr phasize certain improvements iii the present fconstructioii. But the present construction also embodies Yfeaturesnot'disclosed in the aforesaid application, and these are fully` described below.

- Referring then to the drawings, the shade roller 1 has an' axle 2 'driven 'into one end,1a

cap or ferrule 3 coveringthe end of the roller ,l -to `present a pleasing'r appearance'f and protect the end of the roller. s

The 'outerextremity of the aXle 2 is round,

. 'washer 6, the spring plate '7 'and cored drumV 8, on thehub 9 of which the pull cord 10 is wound when the window-shade llisdrawn Normally, the cord 10 hangs straight down from the hub'9, it being suitably ati tached'thereto at 12, asfshown. -As already l stated; when the shade 11 is unwound, the

Following cord 10 is wound'on the drum 9, the cord A coming in front, asf clearly shown in Figs.

2, 3 and4. The spring'plate 7' isbowed oriconvexedin the middle so aste bear on the friction washer 6in the regionof the Y Y' friction shoulders 14 and drum 8. -The shade 11 may be drawn to any'desired adjustment and positively held there by virtue of this tight frictional engagement just referred to.

It is necessary to understand the construction of the bracket 18 before proceeding further with the description of the friction lock. In the first place, the abutment 16 is` suitably stamped out of the bracket 18 as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Instead of making asingle round hole for the round end of the axle 2, as is customarilythe practice,

the opening` 19 is elongated, or takes the shape of a slot, but inclines downwardly toward the rear so that the round end 2 of the axle will naturally gravitate to the bottom of the opening.

This provision insures the automatic engagement of one or the other of the lugs. 15 with the abutment 16 in drawing the shade 11, because the abutment 16V with its shoulder 17 is properly locatedl in the path of rotation of the locking lugs, so that as stated, the nearest locking lug will engage the abutment 16 and stay there while the pull on the shade 11 continues. It can readily be perceived that the mutual engagement of a lug 15 with the abutment 16 will make a. xture of the spring plate 7, and the effort of turning the roller 1, by virtue of pulling on the shade 11, causes the drum 8 to rub against the spring plate, or in other words, tend to retard rotational movement.

lt is to be observed in Fig. 7 that the drum 8 has a non-circular central opening 20 which fits the non-circular shankl 21 of the axle 2. The drum therefore turns with the axle and roller 1. On the other hand, the opening 13 ofthe spring plate 7', is round and sufliciently larger than the sha-nk 21 to permit free rotation of one with respect to the other. The friction washer 6 has a non-circular opening 22, which also fits the non circular shank 21. Y

The reader might question the purpose of the shoulder 17 on the abutment 15. It is true that the natural tendency of the axle 2 is to gravitate to the bottom ofthe slot 19 and thereby insure the striking of one or the other of the lugs 15 against the abutment 16. However, should it ever occur that a person pulls out on the shade l11', in-

- plate 7 engages the abutment 16,

stead of pulling straight down, the axle 2 might ride forwardly and upwardly in the slot or ope-ning 19 and thus convey the lugs 15 entirely out of the zone of the abutment 16.

Vhen alug 15 once engages behind Vthe shoulder 17, noamount of forward inclination of the shade 11, by pulling outwardly thereon, can cause the parts to disengage and therefore the function of the frictional locking or spring plate 7 always operates. j

h/Ieans for preventing tearing voff the shade from the roller 1, consists of the arm 20 pivoted on the axle 2 at the end of 21, and provided with a loop 22 through which the cord 10 passes. yThe pivoted arm 20 swings freely on the axle 2,Y the washer 5 providing a space between the shoulder 4 and friction washer 6 so that the tension of the springv plate 7 does not interfere with the free swinging' of the arm 20.

A stop 23, bentV inwardly from the bracket 18, prevents the shade 11 from being torn off of the roller 1 when pulled downto the limit. It operates in this way: The pull cord 10 has a ring 24, or other weighted member, near the lower end. Obviously, as the shade 11 is pulled down, the cord 10 is rolled up on the drum 8. The ring 24, being properly located on the cord l0, will at a certain time go far enough up to engage the loop end ofthe pivoted arm 20, whereupon the tendency of the arm will be to swing forwardly against the stop 23 and so prevent further rolling up ofthe cord 10 on the-drum 8, and consequently further pulling down ofthe shade 11. As stated before, this prevents the shadev from being torn off ofthe roller.

The Qperdtz'on.

By way of brief review,thestructure and operation of the improved roller lock consists of the following. The washer 5, arm

20, washer 6, spring plate 7 and cord drum 8 are successively slipped on the non-circular end of the axle 2. The drum 8 is pressed inwardly until sufficient tension isv obtained by virtue of compressing the convexed spring plate 7 against the washer 6. f

This being done7 a pin 25 is slipped through the axle as shown in Fig. 1, to hold the parts in place. The axle is then driven into the end of the roller l, and it makes no difference whether the drum 8 abuts the endof the rollerl or vnot. So longas one of the shoulders or locking lugs 15 of the spring Y Y the spring plate 7 will be held stationary while the shade roller 1 with the drum 8 and friction washer 6, can turn with respect thereto.

The reader will understand at once that any adjusted position of the shade 11 will be maintained by virtue of the pressure of the spring plate between the friction washer shoulder 17.

When the cordrllO lis'pulled, the shade -v rollerwith itscarried part, isca'used to 1re-V volve in the reverse direction, 'namely,1or-

wardly i toward the observer; lhis .action i naturally `lifts the then enoeoting lockingv v uw@ lugs 15 from the abutment 16 and also causes the axle 2 to ride upwardlyfin the elongated open-ing 19, bringing the 'locking lug's'out ofv the zone of the abutment'l and enabling. a

free counter-rotation of the roller 1 in again winding up i the shade.

K The form n Figs. 8 and These are two modifications. In'Fig. 8, the spring plate 7a has bearing recesses 26 stamped therein, for the housing roller of bearings 27 which engage the adjacent side of the drum 8. The friction between the various parts, which can here be identied by the same reference characters, obtains just the same, the purpose of the rollers 27 being to lessen the wear and tear on the surface of the drum 8, and preventing the wearing of a circular thin place on the drum.

The form of the spring plate 7b in Fig. 9 is intended more particularly for shade rollers of such a large diameter that a half revolution of the spring plate of the form shown in Fig. 6, would representa considerable distance of movement of the shade 11, and thereby make fine adjustments of the shade impossible. The spring plate has four arms 2S, each of which has a lug 15b equivalent to the locking lugs 15 on the spring plate in Fig. 6.

Vith this form of spring plate, z'. e. in

y Fig. 9, the roller would have to revolve only a quarter revolution before an adjacent locking lug 15b came into engagement with the abutment 16. In itsy other respects, the spring plate 7 b is like the first form, as can be seen by comparing the reference characters. v j Y lhile the construction and 'arrangement of the friction locking device as herein described and claimed, is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scopeV of the claims.

I claim 1. The combination, o f a shade bracket, a revoluble shade roller axle slidably mounted in the bracket to gravitate to a normal position, friction locking means carried bythe axle, turning freely with the axle when the axle is moved out of the normal gravitated position, and means carried by the bracket, positively engageable by said friction lock ing means when the axle is in the gravitated position, rendering f the friction locking 1 B. The combination, of

means :operative .to retard; f the? rotation f of saidaxle.; i `1 I 2. The combination, of .ashadebrackeu aV revoluble non-circular axle with a circulark part shifts-'bly mounted to gravitate into a 7 0 normal, position inthebra-cket, friction lockino'ineans on thenoircirculars artinclud-V i b i ing a 1 movable f friction member co-acting non-moving friction. niembers,.f4 and meansV carried by fthebracket engageable 'by' .the movable frictioniinember when'fin-x said ncrnial gravitated position wherein fthe` axle is frictionally revolu'ble y in. one direction, said axle. being shiftable to f move saidv mov;-

i able friction member out of thefzofne of said means to enable the free revolution of the axle in theother direction;V 'f l a shade bracket with adovvnwardly inclined opening, a noncircular roller axle with a circular end rev-.1y

volubly mounted in V said openingfand nor-V mally gravitating to the lower part, friction locking means on the non-.circular part 'in Y cluding opposed relatively fixed friction j members with an interposed movable fric? tion member, and means embodied in the bracket Yin the Zone of rotation of said movable -member to prevent rotation thereof when the axle revolves in one direction, but

being out of the zone of said movable member when the axle is shifted in the opening, Y

tion. v 4. The combination, of a bracket with inclined guide means and an abutment, a revolnble non-circular shade roller axle with a circular portion engagingV the guide rmeans and normallygravitating toward the abutment, and friction locking means on the non-circular portion, including relatively fixed friction members with an interposed vrelatively revoluble friction member normally in the Zone o f the abutment to engage therebehind, causing movement between saidV member Vand the i yaxle and riding up on said guide means inV spring plate kwith locking" lugs, `pressing Y l against the washer and said drum, and a shade bracket with downwardly inclined guide means to receive the circular axle end,

Venabling a free rotation in the other direcrelative frictional and a shouldered abutment; the axle revolving freely in one` position on the guide means when the locking lugs are out of the zone of abutment, but revolving in the other tatable spacing-and friction Washers next to the collar, a non-rotatable cored drum with a cord attached thereto, a relatively rotatable friction member, formed to bear against i the Washery and drum, with a plurality of locking lugs; and a bracket with a downwardly inclined opening revolubly receiving the circular axle end Which normally gravitates to the lower extremity, and having a shouldered abutment extending into the 20 path of the locking lugs to retain the revoluble friction member and normally cause the axle to turn against the friction of its companion members, said axle revolving freely in the other direction without friction 25 When shifted to the other extremity of the opening when said locking lugs cannot engage the abutment.

JOHN SHEPPARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

